https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-119-The-Dragon-Lords-of-the-True-Dragon-Empire/12550814/
Chapter 118: Destination of the Arrow
Chapter 118: Destination of the Arrow
"Everyone down, let's get these ingredients loaded onto the cart."
The female winged woman under Yan Kong's command shouted loudly, directing the workers.
Yunxiao City had a no-fly rule, and only the Royal Guard, the Ayingyu nobles, and privileged guests were allowed to fly. Yan Kong could fly in, but her giant eagle and cargo box couldn't, so they had to unload at the platform and transfer the goods to a horse-drawn carriage to take them to her restaurant.
This platform was a dedicated cargo transfer station, filled with many cargo-carrying carriages.
Ji Xinghuo joined the others in loading the ingredients onto the carriage.
Winged guards kept a watchful eye on the platform, inspecting the goods and ingredients meticulously.
A female winged guard, who was evidently the captain, scanned the restaurant's employees with sharp eyes.
"Yan Kong." She addressed the elegantly robed Yan Kong with a hint of displeasure. "These few employees of yours look unfamiliar."
Yan Kong remained unfazed. "They're new recruits."
The two clearly knew each other.
As members of the Ayingyu clan, the guard captain was unhappy with this response. "Your restaurant changes employees too frequently. Don't think I'm unaware of your little schemes. I've turned a blind eye before, but the Queen's Yuan Shou celebration is approaching, and if something happens, you won't be able to take responsibility."
"What could possibly happen?" Yan Kong waved her claw impatiently. "They're just a few third-rank winged people. If they dare to have any malicious thoughts, I'll kill them without hesitation."
"It's not just about the winged people..." The guard captain glanced at Ji Xinghuo and the other Star Clan member.
Ji Xinghuo's heart sank.
"Alright, alright, don't go looking for trouble." Yan Kong interrupted the guard captain and suddenly lowered her voice. "We can talk more about this when we meet later."
The guard captain's expression froze, and she ultimately let it go.
Ji Xinghuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that the reason Yan Kong dared to bring people into Yunxiao City so fearlessly was because she had cultivated a relationship with this guard captain. Most likely, a portion of the money she had collected would be shared with the guard captain.
After the loading was complete, Ji Xinghuo and the other employees boarded the carriage. With a wave of the guard captain's hand, they were allowed to leave the freight platform.
The carriage passed through a tall archway, and a breathtaking view unfolded before them.
A magnificent and exotic city spread out, and despite Ji Xinghuo having caught a glimpse of it before, he was still overwhelmed by its grandeur.
Dozens of massive peaks rose and fell, arranged in a picturesque manner.
Each peak was an independent area. Some had their flat surfaces facing upward, forming floating islands with spacious, flat city areas, while others had their tips pointing upward, with houses built along the mountainsides. Winding roads twisted up the mountains, surrounded by lush greenery and flowing streams.
These peaks were both independent and interconnected.
They were secured to each other with thick chains, connected by numerous covered bridges and cable cars, with clouds and mist swirling around them. Many exquisite and grand buildings were half-hidden by the clouds, creating a truly ethereal spectacle.
The carriage traveled along the clean and tidy streets, lined with a variety of fragrant flowers, grass, and trees that were carefully trimmed. The entire city resembled a lush garden.
From time to time, flocks of birds took flight, dancing in the air.
It was a peaceful scene filled with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers.
Ji Xinghuo couldn't help but admire the beauty, but he did his best to hide his emotions, pretending to be as nonchalant as the other winged people, as if this sight was something he had grown accustomed to.
There were few pedestrians on the streets of Yunxiao City because most of its residents were winged people who could fly.
Nonetheless, the city boasted an extensive network of roads.
The carriage wound its way around the waist of a giant peak, eventually reaching a platform at the summit, from where Ji Xinghuo could see the tallest peak in Yunxiao City. It was even higher and larger than the other suspended mountains, occupying almost a quarter of the entire city's space by itself.
The peak pointed upward, but with a gentle slope, and upon it was a vast complex of majestic palaces that extended all the way to the very top.
That was Queen Aying's palace!
The golden light of the sun shone on the glazed tiles of the palace, emitting a brilliant rainbow of colors as if enveloped in a sacred light, inspiring awe and reverence.
It was like a scene from a dream.
The few winged people who had smuggled themselves in, just like Ji Xinghuo, were filled with excitement, their eyes fixed on the royal palace.
The carriage descended from the peak and, upon reaching the foot of the mountain, crossed a suspension bridge.
A gust of wind blew, causing the bridge to sway, and the carriage on it to shake back and forth.
Ji Xinghuo was startled and quickly grabbed the handhold to steady himself. Several members of the Star Clan turned pale, visibly frightened.
The winged people in the carriage laughed at them.
"Big deal, you can fly..." Ji Xinghuo muttered to himself, but then he thought again. Being able to fly was indeed awesome and enviable.
The carriage seemed to be racing through the mountains, climbing and descending, crossing the cable cars in the clouds. Half an hour later, they finally reached their destination.
It was a platform on a peak that hung upside down, right next to the royal palace peak. With an area of over five square kilometers, it was a bustling city district. Yan Kong's restaurant was located in the central block, and the carriage drove into the warehouse in the restaurant's backyard, where Ji Xinghuo and the others began to unload the cargo.
After the work was done, Yan Kong's subordinate called the few who had smuggled themselves in.
"Take off your clothes."
The female winged woman said expressionlessly, "Change back into your own clothes, and then leave through the back of the restaurant. How you survive in the upper city from now on has nothing to do with the restaurant."
The fact that Yan Kong could bring people into the upper city was a testament to her connections and status. Just her affiliation with the Ayingyu clan was enough to make her someone they couldn't afford to offend.
Ji Xinghuo changed back into a plain cloth outfit and left the restaurant through the back door.
The stowaways parted ways.
Using his magnetic field perception, Ji Xinghuo located a high-end clothing store and walked in, his face bearing an air of arrogance and confidence befitting one of the upper class.
"Bring out your finest garments and let me choose," he said haughtily to the store attendant.
The wingman salesperson, who had initially wanted to shoo Ji Xinghuo out due to his shabby appearance, immediately changed their attitude upon hearing him speak.
For Ji Xinghuo had spoken in Draconian.
It was one of the three languages he had mastered in university, and Draconian was the official language of the True Dragon Empire. And the Skyfeather Kingdom was a vassal state of the True Dragon Empire.
"Please wait a moment, esteemed customer," the wingman salesperson said, their eyes sharp and attentive. Soon, they returned with several sets of well-fitting outfits, including both modern suit-and-short ensembles and antique-style luxurious robes.
Several wingman attendants gathered around Ji Xinghuo, catering to his every request.
"I'll take all of these," Ji Xinghuo declared, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some True Dragon currency.
The Skyfeather Kingdom did not have its own legal tender, so the wingmen used the currency of the True Dragon Empire as well.
The day before, Ji Xinghuo had exchanged a 10,000-unit gold dragon coin for lower denominations, keeping them in his dimensional pouch for emergencies. Now, he appeared to reach into his pocket, but in reality, he was retrieving the coins from his dimensional pouch.
Moments later, Ji Xinghuo stepped out of the clothing store, clad in a long robe of blue and white, with a cape tied around his shoulders, adorned with dragon scale embroidery. A jade belt cinched his waist, and exquisite knee-high leather boots graced his feet. A sword and a dagger hung from his belt.
In this getup, he looked every bit like a human from the True Dragon Empire.
In actuality, the ruling class of the True Dragon Empire was a subspecies of humans known as "True Dragons," and half of the empire's populace consisted of various human races.
Ji Xinghuo strolled down the street with an air of nonchalant confidence.
He entered a restaurant, and everyone there, regardless of their race, instinctively made way for him. When they heard him speak in perfect, fluent Draconian, any remaining doubts vanished, and they treated him with even greater reverence.
Ji Xinghuo sat alone in a third-floor VIP box, occupying the entire table to himself, savoring the delicious cuisine prepared by the wingmen chefs, his eyes gazing out the window.
Over there, just where the arrow was pointing!
The distance was less than four kilometers.
Ever since entering Yunxiao City, Ji Xinghuo had been checking the arrow's position almost every minute, and just like before, the other party seemed completely unaware of his presence.
However, there was also a possibility that the object was an inanimate item, not a person.
Perhaps it was being kept as a treasure.
Perhaps it was being carried around, but unlike his own situation, it hadn't fused with the owner's body, hence the lack of any perceptible awareness.
Nevertheless, the mystery would be solved today!
Ji Xinghuo dawdled over his meal for several hours, and since the arrow remained stationary, he decided to go investigate.
He paid the bill and set off, step by step, toward the mountain peak where the arrow was pointing.
Along the way, just as he was about to set foot on the inverted mountain peak, Ji Xinghuo casually stopped a wingman to ask for directions. That was when he learned that the mountain adjacent to the royal palace was called "Greeting Peak," a place specifically designated by the Skyfeather Kingdom to entertain VIP guests, and it also housed the embassies of various nations.
Upon learning this, Ji Xinghuo had a bad feeling.
Envoys... VIP guests...
He recalled that the other party had come from the north, and the True Dragon Empire was located north of the Skyfeather Kingdom.
Although there was another vassal state in between, judging by the distance the arrow had moved, it was highly likely that the object originated from the True Dragon Empire!
Ji Xinghuo lowered his head to glance at his current attire, a wry smile tugging at his lips.
Was the fake about to encounter the real deal?
Soon, Ji Xinghuo stepped onto Greeting Peak, drawing closer and closer to the object. His heart raced, but his face remained calm, as if he were merely strolling through a garden in Yunxiao City.
Three thousand meters...
Two thousand five hundred meters...
Finally, when he was within two kilometers, the object at the end of the arrow entered the range of his magnetic field perception. Its magnetic field was extremely restrained, all the magnetic lines of force contracting into an extremely bright point that stood out vividly in his perception, like a tiny dot shining as brightly as the sun, impossible to ignore.
He felt a deep sense of attraction, and the Many Visions Star Pupil interface automatically popped up in his vision.
The arrow was trembling.
The entire interface was flashing and glowing.
Ji Xinghuo clearly heard a strong calling, and from the depths of his heart, an intuition arose—he had to get his hands on it! But the next second, as Ji Xinghuo sensed the other magnetic fields clearly, his face changed drastically.
(End of Chapter)
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